Stronger
by Charmedfan90
Summary: Instead of letting Sookie go off on her own to save Bill; what if Sam had helped her instead?  A different take from the pilot on.
1. Chapter 1

Sookie Stackhouse let out a sigh as she cleaned the table at Merlottes Bar and Grill. Most days she didn't mind working, but today was one of the days where she couldn't focus on blocking out thoughts. For a very long time she viewed her telepathy as a curse; but after finally confiding to her family that she could do what she could do they managed to convince her to control and use her power. When she was younger she would get massive migraines if she wouldn't let people's thoughts in. Even when she let them in, her mind would feel fried.

Before she could stop working for a moment to grab an aspirin, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. "Sookie are you alright?" Sam Merlotte questioned. She turned around, and suddenly saw his concerned face. She knew that he was suspicious of her talent, but ultimately had the feeling that he would understand. "Sook?" he questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder. As soon as he made physical contact, his mind was an open book to her. Unlike telepaths in comics and shows etc, she mostly saw flashes of memories, and feelings unless she really concentrated. She could feel his concern flood inside her head, and unlike most people feeling him inside her head was calming. "Dawn," he signaled one of the other servers over, and started to lead Sookie to his office.

"Sam, I'm alright," she tried to insist, but he wasn't having any of it. She just nodded her head, and let him lead her out. He closed the door to his office, and grabbed a bottle of aspirin. "Uh…how did you know I had a headache?" she questioned, gratefully taking the aspirin from her boss. He gave her a little smile _I just knew_; she heard his voice in her mind.

"Just could kinda tell," he said to her, and she downed the pill. He was the first boss or guy in general that she had met that never pushed her on anything. Sam was just like that and she was grateful. She knew that he really liked her, but even as comfortable as she was with what she could do, she wasn't sure how Sam would actually react to the truth. "Do you want to go home?" he questioned gently. He was sure he could call someone else in if she wasn't feeling that well. She shook her head and smiled.

"No I will be fine," she said, lightly touching his shoulder. She got the impression that he was going to be keeping an eye out for her, but for once didn't mind. He smiled, and she went out the door to get ready for the assault of thoughts and emotions that were going to be coming out towards her. As she continued her work, she suddenly found herself looking towards a man coming into the bar. As she glanced at him, she suddenly found she felt absolutely nothing coming from him.

"Hey there sugar, can I get you anything?" Sookie questioned in a friendly voice.

"Yeah…O Blood negative please," he said to her. She seemed shocked for a moment, but managed to recover.

"Coming right up," she said in a chipper voice. As she was heading back towards Sam and the bar, she walked past a couple of regulars there at Merlottes. She didn't get many thoughts this time around since she wasn't focusing on them intentionally, but she got visions of what they were planning to do to that vampire sitting a few booths in front of them.

They wanted to bleed him dry; and Sookie couldn't seem to stand the thought of someone killing another being. Despite the guy being a vampire, no one deserves to die that painful of a death. "Sam…" she grabbed his attention.

"What's up Sook?" he questioned, smiling warmly at her. After seeing the worried look on her face, he had her full attention. "Is everything alright?" he asked, and she could feel his concern wrapping her mind like a comfortable blanket.

"The Rattrays are planning on attacking that guy over there," she whispered.

"The rumors must be true," Sam murmured, looking at the vampire in his bar.

"What should we do?" Sookie questioned. Sam wasn't entirely sure what to do; one hand he didn't like vampires to be around his bar. Then he looked at the girl in front of her, and knew that despite his personal feelings for vampires he knew that Sookie was going to be upset if he didn't do something.

"Well…I will take care of the Rattrays. Just try and get the vampire out of here," Sam murmured. Sam gently patted her hand, and while he went to go distract the Rattrays, Sookie grabbed the bottle of blood he ordered, and quickly wrote a note on a bar napkin. She walked to the vampire, and placed the bar napkin in sight, and with her eyes made him look down at it while she set down the bottle. He opened up the bottle, and drank some. He took his time with the note, and he looked at her inquisitively.

"Get out of here," Sookie said to him. "Now," Sookie growled, and the vampire paid for his drink and left a hefty tip before walking out of the door. She let out a breath of relief, and she saw the Rattrays shooting her an evil look. They knew the 'rumors' of Sookie's abilities, but they never believed them until now. They had murderous thoughts intended towards her and the vampire she let go. Sookie felt fear enter her system.

The Rattrays left and Sam saw a scared look on Sookie's face. "Sook," he murmured, and she looked up at him. "I am going to give you a ride home tonight…and I may call the cops to give warning that they might do something," he gently grabbed a hold of her shoulders. Most of the time she would have just blown this off, but she had never seen or felt anything that angry at her before.

As time slowly passed Sam saw that Sookie was slowly beginning to relax. "Good night Sookie!" Arlene called out, and she gave her friend a wave, "See y'all tomorrow!" and with that, she was out the door. Lafayette was still cleaning up in the back, but after a quick conversation from Sam, he was willing to finish up closing. As he started to lead her towards his car, he felt Sookie tense up.

Before he could ask if she was alright, she whispered, "I'm ok Sam," He opened up her car door for her, and she sat down. "You know that you didn't have to do this," she said to him as he sat down behind the driver's seat.

"Sookie, its alright," he said to her, "I don't mind," and unconsciously Sookie read his mind, _I would do anything for you_.

"You are a really good guy Sam," she said, "I'm sorry I put you in a position with the Ratt-," he wasn't having any of that though. As he stopped at a stop light, he grabbed her hand.

"Sookie, really," he said, "I would have done that for anyone in trouble," _even a vamp_, "I know that regardless you were going to help him," he said, "so I would rather have you safe with me then potentially in danger with the Rattrays," he whispered. She squeezed his hand back. He smiled at her, and since she had no objection to him holding her hand so he didn't let go. As they slowly approached her house, Sookie saw that the kitchen light was turned on.

"Gran is up late," she observed. Sam felt worried for a moment. He knew that he could sniff out the Rattrays if they were hanging around her and her Grans' house. Before he could offer to walk her to the door, she took a look at him.

"Did you want to come in for something to drink…I think Gran made some pie too," she said, her eyes twinkling. Despite the fact that there might be danger ahead, Sam couldn't help but feel his face light up with a smile.

"Would love to," he said. As they approached the door, Sam smelt the air around the house. He stiffened as he smelt the familiar vampire in her house. "That vampire is in your house," he said, and Sookie turned around.

"What do you mean?" she questioned, opening up the door.

"Sookie!" her Gran called out in an excited voice, "you have a visitor," Sam suddenly snatched her hand. Sookie could feel his worry radiating off of his body.

"Hold on Gran!" she said, "Come on Sam…it'll be ok," she whispered. Ever since he was younger, and his adoptive family had abandoned him for what he was, he didn't want anything to do with the Supernatural world. But after seeing the look on Sookie's face, he nodded his head. She took his hand and led him into the kitchen.

"Oh hello Sam," her Gran greeted with surprise in her voice, "I didn't know Sookie was bringing home company….well, I think that you two met have met this nice vampire Bill Compton,"

"Hey, I am Sookie Stackhouse," she said brightly, putting on her smile when she got nervous. She shot her hand out for the vampire to shake, and felt Sam stiffen behind her. Bill reluctantly shook her hand.

"Well…thank you Miss Stackhouse for helping me with the Rattrays," he said in a broody voice.

"Yeah….no problem," she said, "I wouldn't have been able to do it without Sam's help…" he nodded briefly at the head of Merlottes and went back to staring at Sookie. The telepath could feel the hostility hanging in between the two men in the room. "Well…yeah, Gran I am going to go make us some tea," she turned to Sam, "you want to help?" she questioned. He nodded his head, and couldn't help but feel that she was going to bite his head off for not being more polite. He couldn't help it; by the time he had finally gotten to a place to ask Sookie out, here came a vampire.

"Well that was very rude of him," she said softly, as she put some water in a tea pot. "I am sorry that he was like that Sam," she apologized. She found herself yawning as she was getting out a pie Adele just made out of the refrigerator.

"Sook…do you want some help?" he questioned and she waved him away. He stood awkwardly in the kitchen. He let out a sigh, and pulled Sookie away. "I can find out where stuff is at, go sit,"

"You are so not the boss of me," he raised an eyebrow at her. "Don't throw that at my face," she said laughing as she reluctantly sat down. Adele walked into the kitchen with Bill Compton.

"Thank you for your hospitality," he said to them, "but it appears that you have plans," he said, "I wish you goodnight," and he walked himself out. Adele saw how Sookie was acting with her boss, and decided to leave them be.

"I think we will talk tomorrow Sookie," she said with a knowing smile, and gave her granddaughter a kiss on the cheek and a hug. She also planted a kiss on Sam's cheek, and headed off to her room. That left Sookie and Sam alone once again.

"Your Gran is quite a lady," Sam said with a smile. She seemed a little nervous around him still, and he gave her a questioning look. "You ok?" he questioned as he grabbed two mugs, and sat back down next to her. She bit her lip; it wasn't like she had much experience with dating.

"I'm doing ok," she whispered. He looked at her, knowing she was holding back on something but didn't want to push. She bit her lip, "You know….Sam…I really never dated that much," she whispered, "because…well…most people thought of me as crazy Sookie Stackhouse,"

"There's nothing wrong with you Sookie," he said.

"Sam…I hear people's thoughts, how does that not make me crazy?" she sighed, looking away.

"Just because you are different doesn't mean you are insane. Sookie…you are an amazing person," she turned to him.

"Me warning you about the Rattrays going after Bill…that doesn't freak you out?" she asked. He shook his head, "It still freaks me out sometimes," she admitted. He looked at her, and could see how down she was. He pressed his hand on top of hers, and was glad to see that she turned it around to squeeze him back gently.

"I know how it can be…to feel like you don't belong," he said to her. She raised her eyebrows.

"Thank you for trying to cheer me up-," before she could try and say anymore, Sam leaned in close and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. His mind was an open book to her, but unlike all of the other times people kissed her or went on dates with her all she could feel was warm and safe. Of course he was thinking about how good she was feeling against him, but also a longing of wanting to do that for a very long time.

"You have no idea how long I have wanted to do that," he whispered softly against her lips. She smiled, and his arms were around her. "Sookie…you are a beautiful person, and if people don't accept you for who they are then they don't deserve to know you,"

"That is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me," she whispered, and she could tell that he meant it. Before he could get too comfortable holding her in his arms, the tea kettle went off. She got up before he could and took it off the stove. He stood up and re-wrapped his arms around her. She stiffened for a moment before relaxing against him. "You really want to be with me?" she asked.

"Of course Cher," he whispered. "This is something I have wanted since you walked into my bar looking for a job," she bit her lip; he was her boss. People that dated their bosses usually didn't last long with relationships.

"Sam…what about work?"

"It will be like normal," he said with an easy smile. "Don't worry about it ok?" he said, resisting the urge to pinch himself.

"I will try not to," she whispered. She let out a yawn, and he took a look at her. She looked at her watch and realized how late it was.

"I think its time I left; you look like you are about to pass out," he whispered. She nodded her head. A walked him to the front door, and he gave her a smile. He pressed a kiss on her lips again, and she found herself kissing back. "Good night Sookie,"

"Good night Sam," she said with a smile. As soon as he was in his car, she closed and locked the door.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you guy for the people who reviewed! I hope you guys enjoy this speedy update (don't expect it often :P )but yeah, let me know how y'all like it. _

On the way home from church the next morning, Adele was curious to question Sookie about this new development between her and Sam. "So you and Sam huh?" she finally asked. Sookie blushed and couldn't help but crack a smile.

"He is being so sweet," she said to her grandmother.

"Oh Sookie it is so good to finally see you happy," she said to her granddaughter, squeezing her hand excitedly. Even though Sookie seemed really happy, there was something bothering her. "What's the matter sweetie?" she questioned. "Why are you so nervous about dating him?" she asked.

"What if it doesn't work out?" Sookie asked, "this is the best job I have been able to attain, and…what if Sam starts to lose interest?" she questioned. "Or he starts thinking bad things?"

"Sookie you just got to go with it," she said, "and men are going to think things," she said with a laugh. "And isn't it a little harder to read his mind?" she questioned. "That might be a comfort for you right?" she asked. "From how happy you are, I think that you should give Sam a chance," after talking with her Grandmother, she felt so much better about her situation.

"Thank you Gran!" Sookie said. As they parked into their parkway, Sookie saw Sam sitting on his car in their driveway. She got out of her car, and smiled at him. "Sam, what are you doing here?" she questioned, walking over to him. He had actually brushed his hair, and wore some nice clothes. He had some flowers in his hand.

"Well…hello Sam," Adele said to him. "You look so nice…are you taking my Granddaughter out?" she asked.

"If she says yes," he said with a laugh. "What about it Sook, wanna come get some lunch?" he questioned, handing the flowers to her. Deciding to heed on her Grandmother's advice, she grinned.

"Of course Sam!" she said.

"Have fun kids," she said, _Its so good to see her happy_, Sookie caught the thoughts of her Gran. Adele walked into the house; leaving Sookie with Sam. She smelled the flowers, and hugged him tightly. He seemed surprised for a moment before drawing his arms around her.

"Are you ready?" he questioned, his eyes crinkling.

"Yeah….where are we going?" she questioned as he opened up the passenger door to his truck. "Its not going to be Merlotte's is it?" she joked. After a moment she thought she had offended him, but when she took a look at him she saw him chuckling.

"Naw," he said to her. "I just want this to be a surprise," he said to her. She resisted the urge to go inside of his head, and grabbed his hand. "No peeking alright?" he said with a smile.

"Ok I won't peek," she promised. She noticed that they drove past Merlotte's and she started to fidget. "Sam," she whispered.

"Don't worry so much Sook, I promise you are going to like this," he said, as began to pull over. He had taken them to a park area where Sookie used to play with Jason at. He reached behind him, and pulled out a picnic basket. She looked up at him in surprise; she hadn't been on a picnic since she was a little kid with her Gran and Jason.

"Oh Sam…I haven't had a picnic since I was a little girl," she said.

"Well…we can fix that," he said, also grabbing a red and white picnic blanket. She got out of his truck, and went to help him grab some things. "Sook, its ok I got it," he said. She rolled her eyes, and reached behind him and grabbed another cooler.

"Sam I can help," she said laughing. Sam nodded his head, and walked to a spot he had scouted out earlier. He placed down the blanket, and sat down. She laid down next to him. "So what have you packed for us?" she questioned.

He laughed, "I may not be the greatest cook like your Gran," he said, "but I got us some sandwiches, and my mom taught me how to make potato salad years ago," this was the first time that Sam had really mentioned his adoptive family.

"That sounds good," she said to him. "So…does your family live close to the area?" she questioned. He stiffened slightly, and she looked up at him. "I'm sorry Sam…" she whispered, "if you don't want to talk about it-,"

"Its alright," he said; this was something he had wanted. He wanted to be in a relationship where someone could talk with him and he could talk with her. "I don't talk much about my past," he admitted to her.

"Well…" she said dishing out some potato salad and grabbing a sandwich. Sookie handed him the plate, "If you want to talk about it Sam, I am here to listen," she said to him. "And I will try not to pry it from y our head by accident," she promised.

"Sookie you can take a walk in my mind anytime," he said with a smile. Sam grabbed a Coke from the cooler, and handed it to Sookie. "I don't like talking much about my family is because they abandoned me when I was fifteen," he said. She stopped drinking the Coke, and sat up to look at him. His gaze had gone over to another place in his mind. She grabbed his hands, and he squeezed them tightly. He could tell that she was going to say something but he started to talk again, "They left because of me,"

"Sam….don't say things like that," she reprimanded him. As she was talking there was a vision of a younger version of Sam at his parents home. She saw him in pain and suddenly he was shrinking out of his clothes, and he was replaced with a dog. He knew that she saw what he was capable of doing. "Sam...you turned into a dog," she said to him.

"I am a shapeshifter," he said, "I can understand if you are weirded out-,"

"No Sam, I am not weirded out," she promised, "I just wish you told me sooner Sam. I know what it is like to hide from yourself, or be known as Crazy Sookie," she said to him. He looked down at her, and wrapped his arms around her.

"Sookie…thank you," he whispered, as she snuggled closer to his body. There was still more he wasn't sure if Sookie wanted to know about him. It had taken him a long time to get to the man he was today, and he had done things he isn't very proud of. He laughed lightly, "I am sorry Sookie, this was supposed to be something fun for us-,"

"Don't apologize for talking about you," she reprimanded lightly. "I want to get to know you Sam," She snuggled in closer to him, and they began to eat lunch. "You really think people at work won't accuse me of things just-,"

"Sookie, all that matters is what we think," he assured her, "but I know with you being a telepath it is going to be harder on you," he murmured. "Maybe we can find a way to fix that," he said thoughtfully. "You think you can maybe focus on me instead?" he asked her.

"Well…I think maybe because you are a shifter it is harder for me to read your mind," she smiled, "and it would make it easier to just focus on you then drowning out the crowd," she said nibbling on her sandwich. "I am glad that we are out doing this," she said to him. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer.

"I am so glad to hear that Sookie," he said. He looked down at her, and gently placed a kiss on her lips. She was surprised for a moment; she really never got into dating so feeling this was a completely new experience for her. She slowly began to kiss him back, and he pulled away for a moment. "You ok?" he asked, softly caressing her face with his thumb.

"Yeah…" she whispered, smiling lightly. "It feels good," she admitted blushing. Sam let out a soft chuckle.

"Good," he said smiling. "You make sure that you let me know if we are going too fast ok?" he asked, "I don't to rush you into anything,"

"You sure you don't mind being patient?" she questioned, grabbing his hands.

"The best things are always worth waiting for," he promised, bringing her close to his body. This was going so much better than he planned; he was very happy at this moment. Sadly that moment of happiness was ruined by his cell phone going off. He looked down at the caller Id and saw it was Merlottes. He let out a sigh; he had talked with the staff and had told them that this was the one day he wanted to be left alone.

"Hello?" he questioned.

"Sam!" Arlene's panicked voice appeared on the line, "you got to get over here! I am all over this place by myself-,"

"Arlene…calm down, Dawn hasn't shown up for her shift-," he started to ask, and was yet again interrupted by the fiery red-head on the other line.

"No, and she isn't answering her phone, Terry is freaking out-," Sam let out a sigh, "I know this is your big date with Sookie, but we really need the help!"

"Alright…I will figure something out," Sam said, "just hold down the fort until someone gets there ok?"

"Ok, ok thank you so much Sam," she whispered, and she hung up the phone. Sam repressed the urge to let out a groan. Sookie had overheard most of the conversation, and looked at him.

"I am sorry Sookie," he sighed, "I hate to cut short our date-," he said, and she shook her head.

"You don't have to cut it short…just postpone it," she said, "we can continue this for a late dinner?" she proposed. As much as he wanted this to be perfect, he knew that Sookie was willing to make them work.

"Sounds good," he said, "I hope you don't mind working…"

"Not at all…we all got bills to pay right?" she said as he stood up. He offered his hand and she grabbed. He pulled her up to her feet, and they quickly packed up their lunch. Sookie pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, and flashed Sam a grin. "Thank you for this wonderful date Sam," she said.

"Well…next time we won't be cut short," he promised. Sookie laughed, and laid her head on his shoulder. The quick drive to Merlottes was comfortable and silent. Sookie could feel a part of him slightly disappointed that he had to cut short, but otherwise she had never felt him so happy until this moment. As soon as the couple entered the bar, Arlene ran over to them. She threw her arms around Sookie, and then around Sam.

"Thank god you two are here!" she cried out. Sookie shook her head at her friend, and headed back to the bar. She didn't have her complete uniform on, but grabbing an extra apron and pad with paper. When she and Sam walked into the bar, she could see and feel everyone's questioning looks and feelings. She just decided to ignore them, and focus on doing her job. She shook her head, and went over towards Jane Bodheouse.

"Hey Jane," she said to the woman, "isn't it a little early to be drinking this much?" she questioned picking up the empty beer glasses. She rolled her eyes, "How about we get some food into you?" she questioned, taking out her pen and pad.

Jane let out a sigh, "I guess I will have a cheeseburger and fries," she let out a sigh. Sookie nodded her head, and grabbed a glass of water. Time to sober up Jane, she thought to herself. She headed back towards the kitchen and placed the order up.

"Hey Terry," she said, flashing him a smile.

"You here to help Arlene?" he asked he still seemed a little stressed.

"Yes I am," she said, "Just take your time ok?" she questioned, and he smiled back at her. He nodded his head, and she went back over towards the bar. She cracked a smile when she saw that Sam was serving and bussing tables. After about an hour, things had finally calmed down. Arlene was still a little frazzled, and Sookie walked over to her. "Why don't you go take a break?" she questioned. "I can cover your tables," she promised.

"Well…ok," she said, "But how did that date go with you and Sam?" she questioned excitedly. Sookie blushed lightly.

"I had such a good time," she admitted.

"Good," Arlene said, "you will have to tell me all about it later," Sookie took a peek inside her mind; didn't find any disdain or irritation in her mind. She nodded her head, and went towards Arlene's tables and began cleaning up. Before she could really get back into work, she found that the landline was ringing. She saw Sam was getting a customer, and she waved him letting him know that she would get it.

"Thank you for calling Merlotte's, this is Sookie speaking," she said, and was surprised to hear Jason's voice on the other line.

"Sookie," he said, "thank god," his voice sounded so shaky and frightened.

"Jason, what's wrong?" she questioned, getting really nervous. Sam saw a worried look on Sookie's face, and after politely excusing himself he walked over towards the phone.

"Sook…its Dawn," he whispered. Andy Bellfleur got up and threw some bills on the table, and ran out the door.

"What about her?" she questioned, feeling frightened now.

"She's dead," Sam had apparently overheard the news on the phone and he frowned deeply. "Sookie…" he whispered.

"Jason, are you still there?" she questioned. "Jason call the cops right this…"

"I gotta go," he said and he hung up the phone. Sookie just stared at the cordless phone for a moment, her mouth agape.

"Sook?" Sam questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder. She could feel his worry overflowing for her. Before she could compose herself, Sam pulled away. She looked over towards him, and saw he was starting to close up.

"Sam what are you doing?" she questioned.

"We are closing up early. Your brother is in trouble," he said to her.

"You can't lose a days-," she started, and stopped when he gave her a look. "Are you sure?" she questioned. He nodded his head.

"We will open up later for some drinks…I'm sure people will need it,"


	3. Chapter 3

_Thank you so much KimberlyAnnT, The Red Swan, and Club eric for your reviews! They made me so happy to see_. _I hope you guys enjoy the next chapter._

_KimberlyAnnT: I hope I get more reviews soon too! Haha, but I am glad at least a few people are enjoying this._

_The Red Swan: I agree; there is no where near enough Sam/Sookie pairings_

_Club eric: We will see what happens; but yeah most likely a lot of things will change. I kinda always thought that Sam and Sookie would end up together. _

About an hour later, Merlottes had closed down for lunch. Sam and Sookie were in his car, and she couldn't seem to sit still. What had Jason gotten himself into this time? She knew that he and Dawn had been fooling around for a bit. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong; maybe he was just found her body. "Sookie?" Sam questioned, as the car started to slow. They were approaching Dawn's apartment, "Sook…if you want to stay here, I can go see what is going on," she shook her head. If her brother was somewhere, she better make sure that he was saying anything stupid. Jason was a lot of things but he wasn't a murderer, no matter how mad he got. "I can check on Jason-,"

"It's alright," she said, shaking her head. "I can go," Sam was still worried, but nonetheless got out of the car. He opened up the passenger side door, and she grabbed his hand. All around the neighborhood there was a sense of dread; and she felt Sam bring her closer. "Sheriff…Andy," Sam said to them. _I hate when they don't address me by my title_, Andy thought.

"What's going on?" Sookie questioned. Before any of the police could answer, she saw her big brother in the back of a police car. "What the hell are you charging my brother with?" she demanded. "You can't possibly think that he had something to with this-,"

"We are only bringing him in for questioning," the sheriff said.

"I think that Jason could get there on his own!" Sam reasoned, "There is no reason for him to be behind the back of the police car,"

"Did you read him his rights?" Sookie snapped, not being as cool headed as her boyfriend. With the look on their faces, she knew that they didn't. With that, she walked over towards the police car. She opened up the back, and Jason looked up at her in surprise. "Come on," she grabbed his arm. _Oh my god, oh my god_, that is all she could hear going on his head. When she had finally started to steer him towards Sam's car she saw the Coroners bringing out Dawn's body. Sam walked over to her and turned her towards his car. "Detective," she said, "We will head over to the police station now,"

The car ride was unusually silent. "What happens now?" Jason questioned, his mind was numb.

"You are going to answer their questions as truthfully as possible," Sam said calmly. He grabbed Sookie's hand, squeezing it gently. _Oh shit the V_, Jason thought.

"You have V?" Sookie snapped at him. "You are going to throw out that shit right now Jason Stackhouse!" she was infuriated. "What if Gran had found about this? This would kill her? Did you learn nothing at all from her?" she began ranting.

"I don't need to be hearing this from my kid sister!" Jason argued back.

"Guys, that is enough," Sam said as they finally came to a stop light. "Jason, you should be grateful Sookie got you out of there and you shouldn't have gotten V. Sook…" he started, hoping she wasn't going to get mad, "I think Jason is beating himself up enough already," Sookie took a deep breath, and made herself calm down.

"Sorry," Jason murmured.

"You know I just worry," Sookie sighed, rubbing a hand over her face. How could such a good day turn out to get so bad? "Give me it," she sighed, and her brother handed it over. She threw it into her purse and let out a slow even sigh. Before Sam could try and smooth over this situation anymore, his phone went off yet again. "Who's calling?" she questioned. He ignored the phone call, and headed for the station. Whoever the number was they could wait. As they approached the police station, she could feel Jason's fear radiating off of him. "It's going to be alright Jason; you didn't do anything," he nodded his head.

The phone rang again, and Sookie looked at Sam. "You guys can go ahead if you want," Jason said, seeming to have calmed down a bit. His sister seemed very reluctant to let Jason go by himself; she didn't want him in jail for something he didn't do. She let out a sigh, and nodded her head. She watched her brother go alone, but she knew if she stayed there she would just be thrown out anyways. Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders, bringing her close.

"Its going to be alright," he promised her, as he began to stroke her hair. She smiled lightly, and let herself be comforted. She had never felt comfortable with anyone in her family embracing her, because she would hear and feel everything they did. It always made her feel sick after a while, but Sam made her feel safe and loved. Of course he was a man, so he always had stray thoughts, but she just ignored them. When it came from him; it wasn't just a drunk guy wanting sex. He was clearheaded and respected her wishes. "What are you thinking about?" he questioned, breaking her out of her haze.

"Sorry, I really wasn't thinking," she said; which was kind of true. She never let go of her shields this much before. He shook his head lightly, and sighed. She looked down at her watch, and looked towards Sam. "We probably should open back up so everyone can get a drink right?" she questioned. He nodded his head, and started driving back towards Merlottes.

As they served their drinks and the night went on, Tara Thorton, Sookie's long time childhood friend came walking into the bar. From the brief impression that the telepath was feeling from her friend she was having a pretty unsettling day as well. "Hey Tara," Sookie said to her, trying to give the classic Sookie Stackhouse smile. "What can I get for you?" she questioned.

"A job," she said, "just quit mine," she said, cracking her neck slightly.

"Again?" Sookie questioned shaking her head slightly, and began to pour her friend a beer.

"I wasn't taking anymore shit there," she said, stubbornly. "Working with a bunch of morons," she muttered, gratefully taking a swig of the offered drink. Despite the sadness that surrounded the bar, Tara Thorton could tell there was something different about her friend. Before she could interrogate her friend further about it, Sam appeared planting a kiss on her cheek. Sookie blushed deeply before heading back to work. "Oh you hold-,"

"What can I get you Tara?" Sam laughed lightly, letting Sookie go back to work. There was really no food orders tonight; mostly drinks.

"How about the lowdown?" she questioned, "Did you finally ask Sookie out?" she questioned. He just smirked lightly at her, "Well its about damn time," she said, raising her glass up before drinking again. At least something was going right in this town. Before she could try and get any more info from Sam she saw the look on his face darken lightly. She turned around and saw Bill Compton walking back into the bar. "Everything ok?" she asked.

"I am not sure," he said, itching to get up. "Tara….watch the bar please,"

"Are you fuc-,"

"Please," he said, and before Sookie could take his order, he went up to him. "Can I help you?" he questioned, attempting to smile pleasantly. It seemed like he wanted to talk with Sookie, but decided to just order a True Blood. He nodded his head, and went back towards the bar. His girlfriend walked back up to him, and she looked at him.

"Is everything alright?" she questioned, placing a hand on his shoulder. He nodded his head, and grabbed the synthetic blood out of the fridge. He popped it into the microwave, and looked towards the vampire. He tried not to judge him just because he was a vampire; he was so different as well. But he had a nagging feeling about this particular vampire. "Sam," she said, feeling a bit of his hostility towards the vampire. "Its alright…I'll take it to him," she may not usually approve of his hostility towards vampires, but Bill hadn't been too kind to him as well. He reluctantly let the hostess take the blood, and walk towards the vamp.

"Here ya are," she gave him a smile as she dropped off the bottle. "Enjoy," before she could turn away from him, he gently grabbed her arm.

"How about you sit down?" he questioned, and she shook her head.

"That's nice," she said, "but I have work and a boyfriend," she said, managing to shake his gentle grip off. She walked back to the bar, and shivered lightly. Both Tara and Sam saw what had happened. The hostility levels she was feeling towards the vampire was a lot.

"Sam, Tara…" she warned lightly, "I will avoid him the rest of the night, I promise," she said reassuringly. That was the only run in while they were open for booze, but when Sookie was about to take out the garbage she felt something scary. There were murderous thoughts aimed at her, and she ran the opposite direction towards the front of the bar. "Sam!" she called out, dropping the trash bags. The back door was kicked open, and she let out a scream.

_I know its been a while since I updated, but I hope you enjoyed it_


	4. Chapter 4

_Instead of a long apology and saying why I haven't been updating, here's a short and sweet I'm sorry and I hope you enjoy this new chapter!_

After letting out a huge scream, Sookie ducked as a gun shot went off. Thankfully the gun shots had narrowly managed to avoid her. She brought up her hands meaning to be peaceful, and hopefully calm down her attackers, but was startled when her hands glowed brightly, and sending energy towards her attackers. They were flung backwards, and hit the dumpster. "Oh fuck," she whispered to herself. Though they were down, but they weren't out. She turned around and sprinted back inside Merlottes. Before she could get very far, she had slammed into someone. She screamed again, and was relieved to hear it was Sam.

"Sam we need to get the hell out of here…the Rattrays…." She had managed to get a read on who was after her. They were enraged that they weren't able to get their fix on V, and now were after blood. She looked down and saw that her boyfriend had managed to procure his shotgun from his office.

"Sookie…you need to get somewhere safe-,"

"You mean we right?" she demanded. Before they could argue anymore, the Rattrays appeared.

"You made a big mistake," Sam growled, pumping the shotgun. "This is your one chance to leave," Sookie inadvertently dipped in his mind; he was hoping that they would try to attack so he could shoot him. Through all the years of her working for Sam she had never seen this side of him.

"Nu uh sweetheart, you keep them fingers of yours down," the male Rattray said, "We ain't getting blasted by those again," Sam glanced at her questioningly before, setting back his steely glare back. "Then again….this vamper blood is amazing…can you imagine what we could do if we had hers?" they were clearly losing their damn minds, and it was not setting well with Sookie. They wanted to drain her now instead of just killing her?

Before any more harsh words could be said, a blur rushed in and the next thing Sam and Sookie knew the Rattrays were gone. "What the fuck?" Sookie breathed. In another instant vampire Bill appeared. Sookie could feel the fear and adrenaline running through Sam's mind.

"It's ok," Bill's cool voice said, hands up in a peaceful gesture. "You saved my life and I was just returning the favor," he promised. The way he was looking at Sookie didn't sit well with Sam, but in favor of not fighting, he slowly lowered his shotgun.

"Thanks," he said reluctantly. "What happened to the Rattrays?"

"Probably better you don't know," Bill said to them. Sookie shook her head in shock; did Bill kill them? She wondered why the vampire was looking at her so strangely. It was like he was sniffing her out. She sidled closer to Sam.

"Thanks," she said. Bill nodded his head and then turned and walked away. She took a shaky breath in, and found that Sam had been talking to her.

"Sook are you ok?" he questioned, placing his hands on her face. She didn't realize how badly she had been shaking. She was never a fighter; and yet her she was dealing with blood addicted humans and vampires, and to top it all off she was able to do some more crazier things than she thought she was able to.

"I…I don't even know," she admitted. Sookie let out a tiny sigh and relaxed against his body.

"Stick close to me ok?" he whispered, picking up the shotgun he dropped. "We'll close up. You want me to take you home afterwards?" she bit her lip and thought about it. She didn't want her Gran to worry about her, but she wanted to stay with Sam.

"Mind if I just stay with you tonight?" she questioned. Sam smiled lightly; may not be the way he originally intended for Sookie to stay with him, but he wasn't going to say no. He was glad that Sookie felt safe with him.

"Of course Sook," he murmured, wrapping an arm around her. Sam had her sit down in the restaurant as he locked everything up. He grabbed his jacket and headed towards his girlfriend.

"Thanks," she murmured as she got up from her seat. She looked down at her watch; a part of her wondered if she should call her Gran to let her know that she wasn't going to be home tonight, but thought against it. She could call her in the morning.

"What are you thinking about?" Sam questioned as he lead her towards his home. He wasn't exactly expecting company, so it was cluttered he noticed as he unlocked the door and let her in. "Sorry about the mess," he apologized, about to start cleaning up when Sookie stopped him.

"You just help save my life and you are worried about making sure that your place is clean?" she laughed lightly. "It's ok Sam," she said. Adrenaline was still pumping her veins and she wasn't exactly tired yet, but she could tell by the look on Sam's face he was starting to feel it.

Before she could offer to just go back to her place so he could rest, he offered, "Wanna watch a movie?" she grinned and nodded her head. "Go ahead and find something," he headed towards his room, and grabbed an old shirt he didn't wear anymore and pair of pants that hopefully would fit Sookie before he got out of his jeans and flannel shirt to change into something more comfy. "Sook?" he called out as he exited his room.

Sookie had pulled out a movie and popped it in. She had settled onto his couch and started to watch whatever she picked. "Sookie," he tried one more time, and she finally shook herself out of her daze.

"Hey sorry," she breathed, "Come sit with me," she said, patting the spot next to her. Sam smiled lightly and sat down on the couch with her. He lifted his arm up so if Sookie was comfortable she could lean into him. The telepath found herself sidling next to her boyfriend and he let out a content sigh. "Thanks," she whispered.

"Anytime Sook," he murmured, running a hand through her hair. Not even halfway through the chick flick she put on, Sookie was sound asleep. He grabbed the remote and turned the tv off. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the blanket and put over the both of them. "Night Sook," he yawned, and found himself passing out as well.

_I know its not a huge update, but its better than none right?_


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